Joseph of Arimathaea

Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 

Mar 15:44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
Mar 15:45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
Mar 15:46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
Mar 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

Joseph was described as honourable

honorable: (from Strong's concordance)

1) of elegant figure

a) shapely, graceful, comely, bearing one's self becomingly in speech or behaviour

2) of good standing

a) honourable, influential, wealthy, respectable

Joseph was an honourable counsellor

counsellor: a Senator or member of the ruling counsel of the Jews

Joseph was a man of wealth and influence; Pilate respected him enough to allow him to take the body of Jesus to be buried in Joseph's own tomb. This was the fulfillment of a prophecy.

Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Matthew described Joseph as a rich man and a disciple of Jesus.

Mat 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
Mat 27:58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
Mat 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
Mat 27:60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

John tells us that another secret believer joined him in preparing the body of Jesus for burial. We know of this other man as Nicodemus who came to speak to Jesus in John 3, and was told that ye must be born again of God. Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

Joh 19:39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
Joh 19:40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Two secret witnesses in high places. Both did not actively witness that they were believers, but they did have some influence in the governing body of the Jews. We need people of influence in our government that are believers of Jesus Christ. They need to speak out for righteousness and so do we. There is a song about "secret service Christians", well we are not to keep Jesus a secret but to tell all that he is the Son of God, who came to save us, to make us free from the bondage of sin and to deliver us as free people into the kingdom of God.

15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

Mary the mother of Joses was the sister of Mary the birth mother of Jesus.

Joh 19:25  Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 

Salome was the mother of Zebedee's sons, James and John. It takes some figuring out to get these names straight.

Joh 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
Joh 19:42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

The garden tomb was nearby. There they lay him because it was the Passover preparation day. The blind religious people were to observe the Passover where the blood of a lamb was shed to spare them from the death angel. As they celebrated this symbolic event, they were spiritual dead, unaware that they had just killed their Messiah, the Lamb of God, the one that John the Baptist pointed to.

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

They had killed the Passover Lamb, the Son of God, who would be raised from the grave on the third day.